"My, what a big tone you’re taking!"
The imposing figure leaped onto the mast of the adjacent riverboat, a weighty dark spear in hand. With a pair of slim eyes, he looked down at Yang Ge, exuding a fearsome presence. Though middle-aged, he appeared vigorous and handsome, his fine features expressing an inherent authority. His robe, deep indigo with silver entwined branches, fluttered in the wind.
"Aren’t you afraid the chilly river wind might freeze off a couple of your teeth?"
Yang Ge raised his head and said, "My tone may be big, but it’s nothing compared to you chaining boats together, murdering and arsoning in your crazed obsession... Anyway, can you come down and talk to me? I don’t like looking up at people!"
The robust middle-aged man scoffed, "We’ll see if you’ve got the skills to make me!"
Yang Ge gestured dismissively, seriousness in his voice, "It’d be best not to start a fight, I’ve got a heavy hand. Once I start hitting, it’s easy to end up killing someone, so let’s reason this out instead."
Seeing this, the middle-aged man’s eyes grew sharper and his scoffing laugh more full of force, "Oh? And what kind of ’justice’ are you looking to sell to my Xiang Family?"
"Not too much, just two pounds worth."
Yang Ge, seemingly oblivious to the condescension in the man’s laughter, continued earnestly, "The first pound, your blockade is disrupting the flow of people traveling north and south. Call it off, huh? Every grievance has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor; no need for the Xiang Family to vent their anger on passersby, don’t you agree?"
The man feigned agreement, nodding his head, "That’s reasonable."
Yang Ge nodded, "The second pound, I heard that some boatmen came to argue with you and not only did you kill them, but you also torched their boats, the result of generations of their family’s work. As the old saying goes, ’A life for a life, a debt repaid in full.’ The ones who started the violence should come with me to the yamen to sort this out, and the boats you burned should be compensated for. That’s reasonable, right?"
Again feigning agreement, the man nodded, "That’s also reasonable."
"Good!"
Yang Ge slowly nodded.
Just as the robust middle-aged man was about to speak again, suppressing a smile...
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Yang Ge suddenly drew his sword, slashing a bright crescent of brilliant silver light. Faster than a clap of thunder, the light flashed by the base of the mast where the middle-aged man stood.
The man felt a chill as the unrivaled edge of the sword force brushed him, his instincts made him want to react, but Yang Ge had already sheathed his sword as if nothing had happened. It was as though that dazzling sword energy that nearly blinded dozens of eyes was merely an illusion...
Then came a "crack," and the mast, thick as a water bucket, broke at the base, slowly toppling and crashing into the river, causing a wave that rocked the riverboat.
And the man, who had stood atop the mast, only managed to regain his senses as it snapped, jumping awkwardly onto the top of the cabin of Yang Ge’s boat.
Yang Ge, under his bamboo hat, tilted his head up slightly and looked at the man, "Do you acknowledge the two points of ’justice’ I just mentioned?"
With no laughter left, the man stared intently at the Cold Moon precious blade in Yang Ge’s hand for a long while before taking a deep breath. He hopped down to the deck, handed his big spear to his subordinates, and with a fist in palm said, "Dare I ask if you are ’Manifested Saint’ Yang Erlang himself!"
At his words, astonishment struck the hodgepodge group aboard the riverboat. They all scrambled to clamber over their companions’ shoulders to get a look at Yang Ge.
But soon enough, the admiration in their eyes turned to fear, and every one of them covered their faces, stealthily inching backwards without a sound.
It suddenly dawned on them: ’Bad news, I’ve become the villain in Yang Erlang’s story...’
In those storytellers’ tales exchanged in the courtesan houses and taverns, which villain ever met a good end?
Good grief, they were the ones to just brush past death, to merely scrape by and perish!
Facing dozens of fearful gazes, Yang Ge didn’t hesitate to deny, "Don’t get the wrong idea, my family name is Ding, given name Xiu, styled Very Smooth, known in Jianghu as ’Qian the Layman’!"
The robust middle-aged man:...
You’re lying, your hand clearly holds the Cold Moon precious blade!
Taking another deep breath and speaking with implied meaning, he continued, "I am Xiang Feilong of the Jiangdong Xiang Family. This Mr... Very Smooth, my grandnephew... my family’s Wudi has long admired your grace and had hoped to meet you. Unfortunately, opportunity has been scarce."
"It’s rare to have such a chance today. On behalf of my family’s Wudi, I cordially invite Mr. Very Smooth to visit our Jiangdong Xiang Family. Being that both our houses are prominent in the Jianghu, there certainly will be much to exchange about martial arts... it would surely please Mr. Very Smooth to join us!"
Yang Ge understood the subtext of his words, unmoved as he stood the sheathed Cold Moon blade in front of him, "One thing is one thing, I’m only asking you if you acknowledge the ’justice’ I previously mentioned or not."
Xiang Feilong suppressed his frustration, barely containing his anger as he forced a smile and bowed with a fist in palm again, "Indeed, these are two separate matters, but if Mr. Very Smooth is willing, couldn’t they become one and the same? The old demon of Lianhuan Fort’s days are numbered, and as the saying goes, ’When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.’ Why bother sticking your neck out for Lianhuan Fort? It’s Lianhuan Fort’s fortune to have a friend like Mr. Very Smooth, but if Mr. Very Smooth graces us with his presence, my Xiang Family will surely not disappoint you."
He made his point more bluntly, "No matter how much Lianhuan Fort offers, my Xiang Family can double it for your friendship, Yang Erlang. But if you insist on taking their side, you make an enemy of my Xiang Family. You’re a sword expert, and we too have a spear expert in our Xiang Family!"
This was the first arrow shot by the Xiang Family after nurturing Xiang Wudi, their dragon.
This arrow was not just aimed at the fat prize of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
The tip of the arrow was also pointed at "Crossing Dragon" Li Changjiang, the previous "Spear Expert."